REFORM the Election Commission of Malaysia and safeguard Malaysia's Democracy

The Election Commission of Malaysia (Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya Malaysia) has utterly failed in ensuring that the sacred process of elections, integral to democracy, are free and fair.

Some of the clear examples the Election Commission has failed during the 14th General Election of Malaysia include and are not limited to :

1) A re-delineation of the constituencies which does not reflect true representation of the rakyat in Parliament and which unfairly favours one political entity over the other

2) Failure to maintaining a clean and accurate Electoral Roll. Incidences where voters, who are yet to vote but then not allowed to as their names have been struck off must never be repeated in a modern democracy like Malaysia.

3) Failing to secure the right of overseas Malaysians to vote by sheer incompetence wherein ballot papers to were delivered late to registered Malaysian voters overseas.

4) Not providing a smooth and efficient process to voting, and thus resulting in long queues that citizens have to wait in just to vote. This is then compounded by them shutting the gates at 5.00pm and barring even people who have already queued up to vote.

5) Failure to provide the results of the election in an expedient and urgent fashion. Upon stopping the voting process at 5.00pm, the results of many seats were only released well after midnight.

As a body tasked with safeguarding democracy, the Election Commission has failed tremendously and must be reformed immediately.As a citizen of Malaysia I suggest the following :

1) The Election Commission be made truly independent, answerable ONLY to Parliament and no longer under the purview of the Prime Minister's Department.

2) Overseas voters be allowed to vote ON THE DAY OF election and at their respective embassies or consulates of the country they are residing in. The current system of postal voting for the Malaysian diaspora is inefficient and must end.

3) The current process of casting votes is clunky and inefficient and must be updated to keep up with modern times. Electronic voting could a viable alternative,and should be studied for further adoption, perhaps on a smaller scale first.

4) The constituencies must be re-drawn to ensure a fairer representation in Parliament. Gerrymandering is an affront to democracy and must be reversed immediately.

5) The Chairman of the Election Commission,Tan Sri Mohd Hashim Abdullah, along with the top leadership, must resign, effective immediately.